THE ENGLISH SILVER COINS OF JAMES I.

Transcription

1 THE ENGLISH SILVER COINS OF JAMES I. BY LIEUT-COLONEL H. W. MORRIESON, R.A., Librarian. N 24th March, 1602/3, James VI. of Scotland was proclaimed King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland in succession to his cousin Elizabeth. This succession of the House of Stuart to the throne of England produced political changes which found their echoes on the coins. The principal alteration that strikes the student is the difference in the Royal coatof-arms. From 1338, when Edward III. claimed the throne of France, to this year, except for the few years during which Mary I. was married, the arms of England were, quarterly, the lilies of France in the ist and 4th quarters, and the lions of England in the 2nd and 3rd ; the lion rampant of Scotland had now to be borne, and the opportunity was also taken to introduce the harp of Ireland ; so that the new coat was arranged thus : the arms of France and England, quarterly, in the ist and 4th quarters; those of Scotland in the 2nd ; and those of Ireland in the 3rd. On 20th October, 1604, an alteration was made in his title, James having preferred to call himself King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, instead of England, Scotland, etc., and the necessary indentures for this alteration to appear on the coins were entered into during the following month. His coins were of the same denominations, weight 7-ff- grains to the penny, and fineness 11 oz. 2 dwts. of silver to 18 dwts. of alloy, as those of his predecessor ; and the silver pieces were crowns, half-crowns, shillings, sixpences, half-groats, pennies, and halfpennies. London was the only mint. The King died 27th March, During the reign of James, as in that of Elizabeth, there was a series of mint marks, but, unlike hers, the mint marks were not all

2 16 The Englis Silver Coins of James I. different, for the thistle and lis appeared three times and the rose and trefoil twice. It has been a puzzle to numismatologists to distinguish the coins with the QVAE DEVS legend on the reverse bearing" these mint marks from one another, and few have attempted a solution. Hawkins makes an attempt, but in the end gives it up, and the late Mr. Montagu in Numismatic Chronicle, 3rd Series, X, p. 273, answers it only so far as the crowns are concerned. The object of this paper is to solve it for the other denominations. The coinage of James I. divides itself into three periods, viz. : The first from the year 1603 to 1604, the second from 1604 to 1619, and the third from 1619 to his death in The first period includes what is generally known as his first coinage, i.e., those pieces having the title of King of England, Scotland, etc., as the obverse legend and EXVRGAT, etc., on the reverse. The coins of the second period, with the exception of the three lowest denominations, which are of entirely different design, differ from those of the first in having the title of King of Great Britain in the o o obverse legend and QUAE DEVS, etc., in the reverse ; otherwise their appearance is much the same. the comma They, like the first, have semicolons, being uppermost for the mark of abbreviation, pellets between the words, and, as a rule, one each side of the mint mark. The mint marks which sometimes omit them are the escallop, coronet, key, and bell, from the reason, perhaps, that these marks are somewhat larger than the others. The third period begins directly after the appointment of William Holle as chief engraver to the Mint, and includes the time when a very large amount of money was coined. occurs. It is in this period that the puzzle The coins have the same design as those of the second, but are coarser in appearance, showing the hand of another engraver. The bust on the shillings and sixpences is slightly different, and as the latter are also dated, they can easily be distinguished ; so it is in the other denominations that the difficulty arises. On studying the coins both of gold ancl of silver, we find several peculiarities : the mark of abbreviation is now a colon instead of a semicolon, and there is no pellet after a complete word. There are, however, a few exceptions

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4 THE ENGLISH SILVER COINS OF JAMES I. 10

5 Crowns. 167 which will be mentioned. The spacing of the words of the legends varies in the different dies, thus often crowding out one or both pellets by the mint mark. There are also more differences in the abbreviation of the words in the obverse legend. On the shield on the reverse the lion of Scotland is not nearly such a fine-looking animal as before, and the harp of Ireland is no longer plain but ornamented with a bird's head ; some coins continued, however, to have a plain harp. The exceptions in the gold coins are that on the angel there are pellets between the words in the legend on the reverse, and a half laurel, which has the marks of abbreviation on the reverse semicolons. (Montagu Sale Catalogue, 3rd Portion, Lot r 70.) I will now take each denomination in detail. CROWNS. First Period. Obverse : The king on horseback to right, sword in right hand, the housings decorated with a crowned rose, line under horse, legend, IACOBVS D! g: ANG: SCO: FRAN! ET- HIB: REX. Reverse: square garnished shield, plain harp, legend EXVRGAT- DEVS DISSIPENTVR INIMICI. There is a beaded inner circle on both sides, and the mint mark has a pellet each side of it. The mint marks are thistle and lis. (Plate I, 1.) Second Period. The crowns of the second period are the same as those of the first, except that the legend on the obverse is IACOBVS D : g: MAG : BRIT : FRAN : ET HIB: REX, and on the reverse QUAE DEVS CONIVNXIT NEMO SEPARET. A pellet each side of the mint mark as on the first. The.mint marks are thistle, lis (Plate I, 2), rose (Plate I, 3), escallop, and grapes. As regards the thistle mint mark, the late Mr. H. Montagu in his article in Numismatic Chronicle, 3rd Series, X, p. 273, states that he had a specimen, which I presume was Lot 191 in his Sale Catalogue, 3rd Portion, but I must say that I am very doubtful if any coins of this second period were struck with this mint mark. Mr. Kenyon mentions in Numismatic Chronicle, 4th Series, V, p. 106, that there was a QUy DEVS sixpence, 1604, with this mark in the Oswestry find. I have seen neither of these

6 168 The Englis[i Silver Coins of James I. coins and, until I do, I shall continue to be sceptical. There seems to me to be no reason why the authorities should have coined a few pieces of a new type with a mint mark which had been discarded for some months. Third Period. These crowns vary from those of the preceding period in having, as the late Mr. Montagu points out in his paper already referred to, a smaller rose and crown on the housings ; under the horse on some of them is grass conventionally treated instead of a line, and the Scotch lion is smaller. The legends have, a different punctuation, viz., IACOBVS D: G : MAG: BRI : instead of BRI FRAN : ET HIB : REX, and on the reverse no pellets between the words. We generally find either one or both pellets beside the mint mark missing. To this period belong those crowns having on the reverse a smaller shield, the harp on w r hich is bird-headed, and a large plume above. This plume was to denote that these coins had been struck from silver from the mines of Wales. Of both kinds the mint marks are thistle, lis (Plate I, 4), and trefoil (Plate I, 5). HALF-CROWNS. First Period. These coins are exactly the same as the crowns, only of a smaller size. Mint marks, thistle (Plate I, 6) and lis. Second Period. As the crowns of the second period agree in every detail, with the exception of the words of the legends, with those of the first, it might be expected that the half-crowns would be found to correspond ; there are, however, none that do. The nearest is one with mint mark rose (Plate I, 7), which agrees as far as the obverse goes, but the reverse has all the peculiarities of the third, so I consider it was coined in that period, viz., The shillings and sixpences of the second period, with the exception of busts and legends, also agree with those of the first in matters of small detail ; there is all the more reason therefore that the half-crowns should do so. The half-crowns of Elizabeth are scarcer than the crowns, and of the first period of James I. they are extremely rare, only a few being known. The crowns of the second period are even rarer than

7 Half-crowns and Shillings. 169 those of the first, so it is a fair deduction to make that the half-crowns would be rarer still. Snelling mentions a specimen with the escallop mint mark, and should that ever appear it would settle the matter, but until that evidence is forthcoming I shall consider that none were coined. Third Period. All the half-crowns) excluding the obverse of that referred to above with the rose mint mark, agree with the crowns except that all have the bird-headed harp. The legends read IACOBVS D : G : MAG : BRI: (or BR :) FRAN : (or FRA : or FR :) ET HIB : (or HI :) REX. Either one or both of the pellets by the mint mark get crowded out. The Scotch lion is also smaller, this probably arising from the coins being smaller, but there appears to be no difference in the crowned rose on the housings. On some of them is the conventional grass under the horse. The mint marks are rose, thistle (Plate I, 8), lis, and trefoil. Some bearing the last three marks (Plate I, 9) have the plume over the shield on the reverse and one with the trefoil (Plate I, 10) has a pellet after JACOBVS and ET. SHILLINGS. The following is a general description of the shilling of this reign. Obverse : bust of the king in armour to right, crowned, XII behind the head. Reverse : a square plain shield. A beaded inner circle on both sides. The legends vary according to the periods. First Period. There are two busts, belonging to this period. First Btist, The armour is figured, hair short, beard cut square and the countenance has a strained look; legend, obverse, IACOBVS : D : G : ANG : SCO : FRA : ET HIB : REX. and on reverse, EXVRGAT DEVS DISSIPENTVR INIMICL; pellet each side of the mint mark. This has only one mint mark, thistle. (Plate II, ii.) Second Bust, The king is more portly in form, back upright, beard pointed and resting on the chest, and his countenance is placid. The legends, etc., are the same as the first. The mint marks are thistle (Plate II, 12) and lis.

8 1 The Englis Silver Coins of James I. Second, Period. During this time three busts appeared. Third Bzist, The armour is still figured, beard cut square, and stands out from the chin, while the crown is tilted a little back on the head ; legends, obverse, IACOBVS D ' G'. MAG : BRIT; FRA : ET HIB : REX reverse : QVAE DEVS CONIVNXIT- NEMO SEPARET. Pellet each side of mint mark. The mint marks are lis (Plate II, 13) and rose. Fourth Bust, The armour is plain, hair longer, parted down the back and brushed forward. The legends are the same as on the coins having the third bust, only sometimes HI: for HIB'.; there is generally a pellet each side of the mint mark. The mint marks are rose, escallop, HIB! Hf; grapes (Plate II, 14), HIB! HI' and coronet, HIB! HI!. There is one with the escallop which has the mint mark on the obverse larger than on the reverse. Fifth Bust, The armour is plain, hair longer ancl brushed back. Legends same as' before, but occasionally MAI for MAG: and BRI: for BRIT. There is generally a pellet each side of the mint mark. The bust on some of the shillings of the key and bell marks appears to be shorter than on the others. The mint marks are coronet, HIB' HI', key, HIB! HI! bell over key, HIB: bell, HIB: Hi: mullet, Hi: tower, HI. trefoil, BRI: Hi: cinquefoil, MA: BRI: Hi: and ton (Plate II, 15), MA: BRI; Hi:. Third Period. There is only one bust during this time. Sixth Bust, The armour is plain, hair still longer and curling over the front of the crown, beard shorter and stands out more from the chin. In the shield on the reverse the harp is birdheaded, but Hawkins mentions one mint mark, rose, with a plain harp ; legends, IACOBVS (or IACOB:) MAG : (or MA :) FRA : (or FR :) ET HIB : (or HI:) REX ; the colon after HI is sometimes omitted, ancl on the reverse there are no pellets between the words. The mark of contraction after IACOB: which occurs only with the mint mark lis, is peculiar, being a semicolon with the comma which is uppermost, like the figure 9. This peculiar comma is found after certain words in the legends on the profile coins of Henry VII. and VIII., and was, I understand, the recognized mark of abbreviation for VS. (Plate II, 17).

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10 E ENGLISH SILVER COINS OF JAMES 1.

11 Sixpences. 171 The mint marks are rose, thistle, lis (Plate II, 16), and trefoil. Some bearing the last three (Plate II, 17) have the plume over the shield. SIXPENCES. The sixpences correspond exactly with the shillings, except that they have VI instead of XII behind the head, ancl have the date over the shield on the reverse. The introduction of the fifth bust in 1608 was not extended to the sixpences, which continued to be issued to the end of the period with the fourth bust. First Period. First Btist. Mint mark, thistle (Plate II, 18.) Second Bust. Mint marks, thistle 1603 (Plate II, 19), 1604; lis Second Period. Third Bust. Mint marks: lis 1604 (Plate II, 20), 1605; rose I must omit the QV^E DEVS sixpence, mint mark thistle 1604, as not having seen it, I am unable to state what bust it has, though presumably it would have this one. Fourth Bust. Mint marks: rose 1605, 1606; escallop 1606, 1607 ; grapes 1607 ; coronet 1607, 1608 ; key 1609, 1610, the 10 over 09; bell over key 1610, the 10 over 09; bell, 1610 ; obverse, mullet; reverse, bell 1610 ; mullet 1611 ; tower 1612 (Mr. S. Spink has told me that his firm once had in their possession one with this mark and date); trefoil 1613 (Plate III, 21); cinquefoil 1615; ancl ton Snelling mentions one with the date 1614, which would have the cinquefoil. Third Period. The harp occasionally varies in size, ancl some of the sixpences with rose (Plate II, 22) and thistle mint marks have a plain harp. None have the plume over the shield. Sixth Bztst. Mint marks: rose 1621 (Plate III, 22); one with plain harp reads SEPRAT; thistle over rose 1621; thistle 1621, 1622, 1623 (Plate III, 23); lis 1623 (Plate III, 24), 1624; altered die 1624, ancl trefoil Major A. B. Creeke mentions in Numismatic Chronicle, New Series, XVI, p. 152, that he then had one of 1623 mint

12 1 The Englis Silver Coins of James. mark lis, on which the arms of France were placed first and third, ancl those of England second and fourth, in the shield in the first quarter instead of the usual first ancl fourth, second and third. This error, no doubt, as Hawkins suggests, was due to a mistake of the engraver of the die. HALF-GROATS. First Period. Obverse : First bust, the crown of which cuts a beaded inner circle ancl has the mark of value II behind the head. Legend I! d: G-' ROSA SINE SPINA; reverse, square shield with mint mark above, no inner circle or legend. Mint marks, thistle and lis. (Plate III, 25.) Second Period. Obverse: A rose crowned, legend same as above, sometimes SPIN for SPINA ; reverse, a thistle crowned. Legend, TVEATVR VNITA DEVS- The crown on both sides cuts a beaded inner circle. The mint mark is at the beginning of the legend, ancl has a pellet between it and the I of the legend, except with the mint marks coronet and key, where there is no room for it. There are two varieties which differ from each other in the size of the crown over the rose. The alteration from the large to the small crown corresponds to the changing from the fourth to the fifth bust. First Variety, with large crown, Mint marks, lis (Plate III, 26), rose; obverse, escallop; reverse, escallop over rose, escallop, grapes, and coronet. (Plate III, 27.) Second Variety, with small crown, Mint marks, coronet (Plate III, 28), key, mullet, tower, trefoil, cinquefoil SPINA and SPIN, ton, book, ancl plain cross. Hawkins mentions one mint mark coronet which reads VNATA instead of VNITA, but makes no reference to the size, of the crown. Third Period. These half-groats are similar to those above, but obverse legends read I : D : G : ROSA SINE SPINA, and on the reverse have no pellets between the words. One with mint mark spur-rowel (Plate III, 29) reads DEV and has pellets between the words on both sides, and another mint mark, trefoil, reads I. D. G. ROSA.

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14 /fsntsefia aril 37 i ffv? L V E R COINS OF JAMES T H E ENGLISH SI PI.

15 Half-groats and Pennies. 173 'SINE. SPI. There are also two other varieties of mint mark lis, one with no inner circles (Plate III, 30) ; my own specimen reads DE9 instead of DEVS ; this 9 is merely a mark of abbreviation similar to that after IACOB on the shillings and sixpences, and the other without inner circle on the reverse (Montagu Catalogue, Third Portion, Lot 216). Some with the trefoil have the mint mark at the end of the legend. There is no pellet between the mint mark and I. : Mint marks : spur-rowel, rose, thistle, ditto, reverse only, at end of the legend, lis, and trefoil. (Plate III, 31.) PENNIES. First Period. These are similar to the half-g-roats except that the mark of value is I. The mint marks are thistle and lis. (Plate III, 32). Second Period. These are similar to the half-groats except that there is no crown over the rose and thistle, and there is a pellet each side of the mint mark. Commencing with the mint mark Tower there is a semi-colon after ROSA and SINE instead of a pellet. The mint marks are lis (Plate III, 33), rose, escallop, coronet.- Hawkins mentions that one reads SPINE instead of SPINA key, key.and bell united (Hawkins), presumably bell over key like the sixpence of 1610, bell, mullet, tower, trefoil, cinquefoil, and cross (Hawkins). There is a penny with no other mint mark but a pellet with the legend similar to that with the mint mark Tower (Plate III, 34), which I place as the last issued in this period. I consider it the first of that series of pennies whose mint marks, with two exceptions, viz., lis , and Charles I., lis 1625, are pellets, which commenced at this time and extended till the plume mint mark of 1630 when the Sovereign's head was reintroduced for this denomination. Third Period. These agree with the half-groats of this period in the same manner as the second period pennies and half-groats coincide. The only mint mark is the lis. Some, like the half-groats with this mark, have no inner circles (Plate III, 35), others have no

16 The Englis Silver Coins of James I. inner circle on the reverse. There is no pellet on either side of the mint mark. There are a number of pennies with either one or two pellets for a mint mark ; some of these, like those with the lis, have no inner circles on both sides or on the reverse only. One with mint mark two pellets, reads SIN, another VNIA (Burns No. 980), another DE9, the comma like the figure 9 ; another has a pellet between the words on the obverse. This last may be, accordingto Burns, a Scotch shilling. The rose pennies of Charles I. existed during his first seven mint marks, but only one is represented, viz., lis 1625, although all appear on the half-groats. The same peculiarity appears here, for there are five mint marks belonging to this period and only one, the lis is figured ; but to make up for their absence in both reigns there are a number without a mint mark, save pellets. These circumstances have led me to the conclusion that the marks were omitted intentionally. HALFPENNIES. First Period. These are the same as Elizabeth's. Obverse : a portcullis with mint mark above ; reverse : a cross moline with three pellets in the angles. Mint marks, thistle (Plate III, 37) ancl lis. There are some without any mint mark, but these are generally attributed to Elizabeth. Second Period. These have obverse: arose; reverse: a thistle with mint mark over it. Mint marks, lis (Plate III, 38), rose, escallop (Montagu Catalogue, Third Portion, Lot 214), coronet, bell (ditto, Lot 218), mullet (Hawkins), cinquefoil (Montagu, Lot 217). Third Period. With the exception of their having no mint mark these are similar to those of the second period (Plate III, 39). In assigning this coin alone to the third period, I am led by the considerations governing my conclusion in regard to the pennies. The Tower halfpenny of Charles I. besides having no mint mark, corresponds to the rose penny in the same degree as this halfpenny does to the rose ancl thistle penny of the above period. This halfpenny

17 Halfpennies. T 75 has also a somewhat coarser appearance than those with mint marks. Having finished the description of each denomination, I will now sum up the solution I have to offer to the conundrum presented at the commencement of this paper, viz., the proper arrangement of the second and third period coins bearing the mint marks thistle, lis, rose, and trefoil. Crowns. The late Mr. Montagu's solution of the difference oi rose and crown on housings and the size of the Scotch lion, supported by reference to the difference in the punctuation of the legends. Half Crowns. All to the period , as they have the proper third period reverse. Shillings and Sixpences. The difference in the busts, punctuation, and of course on the sixpences, the dates, at once point out their sequence. Half-Groats. Thistle 1604 (none), lis 1604, and rose 1605 have a large crown on obverse, and the trefoil a small one. All have semicolons after single letters and pellets after complete words and a pellet on the right of the mint mark. The rose i620-'2i, thistle , I 6 2 3~' 2 4> an d trefoil 1624, have a small crown on obverse, colons after single letters and nothing after complete words and no pellet by mint mark. Pennies. Thistle 1604 (none), lis 1604, rose 1605, and trefoil T 613 have a pellet each side of mint mark, and legends like those on the half-groats, except the trefoil, which has a semicolon after the complete words instead of the pellet. The rose i620-'2i, thistle i62i-'23, and trefoil 1624 none ; the only mint mark of this third period being the lis , which has no pellet on either side of mint mark, and legends like half-groat. Halfpennies. All to the second period, except those with no mint mark. I append a table (p. 176) of mint marks arranged to suit this paper after the manner of that in Hawkins. The crosses represent that they are in my possession ; B, in the British Museum ; H, mentioned in Hawkins; M, Montagu Sale Catalogue ; and N, referred to in the Numismatic Chronicle and S, seen by Mr. Spink.

18 16 The Englis Silver Coins of James I. <U VH > J> CO C A J3.3 o o> a3 S S o s s CO - - O 0.5 co c o x X IX IX I IS X I MSS I 13 I I I I I I I I II II I I I II I I IX! x II x IX MX X IX i x x x x x I I Ik X I I I I I I I & M M X x X X X XX&X x x x x xx 1 x m xx xl I I I I xxxx gxxxxxxxxxxxxxxcox ~weq M i l l I XX XXX XX C co B* XX I x X XX X XXXX XXXXX I X a K W X X X I X X I X X x M II II I IB II II I II II II II II II II Is I XX I I X X X X I o!h u X 2X!X MX IX 11 II II II II II I I II I I I I Xffl I I XX XX feco : : : : : : : : : : o J2 WJ S2. ^ I : : : : : : : : : 3 B ««t/3 3 -J-J.C -O.C ^ - -s.c a rh ^ J-l 3. j3 O ^ O :H f* fefe y. co.c co : =3 a s? 0 5- s < SB o J o f y^o H o n H N - n ^ t-, M 'J O T3 t/1 «3)2 N n «: N VO " J3 * o H i-3 <5 HMOAHCO^ <U - 0 o. 5 H ", H S5 cot

19 Description of the Plates DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. PLATE I. Crown, ist Period, mint-mark Lis. 2nd Lis.,, Rose. «3rd Half-Crown, ist Period, 3rd Lis. Trefoil. Plume over Shield. Reverse only. Thistle. Rose. Thistle. Thistle. Plume over Shield. Trefoil. Pellet after JACOBVS and ET. Obverse only. PLATE II. II. Shilling, ist Bust, mint-mark Thistle nd Thistle rd, Lis th Grapes. 15. Sth Ton th Lis. 17.,, Lis. Plume over Shield. JACOB. 18. Sixpence ist Thistle nd Thistle rd Lis PLATE III. 21. Sixpence, 4th Bust, mint-mark Trefoil th Rose Plain Harp. 23. Thistle Large Harp. 24. Lis. JACOB. Small Harp. 25. Half-groat, ist Period, mint-mark Lis nd Lis. 27. Coronet. Large Crown. 28. Coronet. Small Crown. 29.,, 3rd Spur Rowel. 30.,, Lis, no inner circles. 31. Trefoil, mint-mark at end of legend. VOL. IV. N

20 8 The Englis Silver Coins ofjaes I Penny, ist Period, mint-mark Lis. 2nd Lis. no mint-mark. 3rd mint-mark Lis. No inner circle on obverse. no mint-mark. Halfpenny, ist Period, mint-mark Thistle. 2nd Lis. 31'd no mint-mark. Note. Nos. 7 and 29 are in the British Museum and the rest are in author's collection.

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22 EARLY AUSTRALIAN COINAGE.